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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. row — a line
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. key — for a lock
  6. clip — to cut
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. key — the most important part
  10. row — to paddle
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. court — for sport
  13. clip — a video
  14. tube — the underground
  15. key — in music
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. wake — a trail
  18. court — of a king
  19. chair — a leader
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. tube — a container
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. clip — for paper
  24. court — of law

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com